Former Rangers Defenseman's Reunion With Forward Kaapo Kakko is nothing short of thrilling
Photo credit: Danny Wild Imagin-images
Kaapo Kakko and Ryan Lindgren have been teammates in New York up until their recent trades this season. Lindgren would be sent to Colorado, and Kakko to Seattle. Now in free agency a reunion is happening, with Lindgren excited by the fact he's reuniting with one of his good friends.
Ryan Lindgren was a former Boston Bruins draft pick who spent the majority of his NHL career wearing a Rangers jersey (387 games). He'd be shipped to Colorado and would play to the best of his abilities with the Avalanche and test free agency.
He'd sign a new, generous contract with the Seattle Kraken, who are paying him $4.5 million AAV. In addition ot the new contract, there remain exciting prospects for Lindgren, who gets to reunite with forward Kaapo Kakko.
Kaako has been friends and teammates with Lindgren for some time. To say Lindgren was less than excited would be a lie.
«He is one of my favorite guys I played with in my career, just such a good dude,» Lindgren said earlier this week. «Everyone loves him, such a hard-working, great player. As soon as he went to Seattle last year, he really took off and played well. I'm excited to be back playing with him and really excited to see him again.»
The duo would play in New York as rookies during the 2019-20 season. Kakko, a former 2nd overall pick, would find a new home in New York during the team's rebuilding era, and both players would find vital roles in the lineup.
They'd contribute to the team's runs to the Eastern Conference Finals in '22 and '24. Kakko would be traded first for a package that included Will Borgen, and Lindgren would soon follow, being sent to Colorado with Jimmy Vesey.
While Lindgren had always hoped to stay in New York, he's ready to accept the reality that he needs to find his way in Seattle.
He'll be building relationships with his new teammates while reconnecting with Kakko there as well.
The duo would play in New York as rookies during the 2019-20 season. Kakko, a former 2nd overall pick, would find a new home in New York during the team's rebuilding era, and both players would find vital roles in the lineup.
They'd contribute to the team's runs to the Eastern Conference Finals in '22 and '24. Kakko would be traded first for a package that included Will Borgen, and Lindgren would soon follow, being sent to Colorado with Jimmy Vesey.
While Lindgren had always hoped to stay in New York, he's ready to accept the reality that he needs to find his way in Seattle.
He'll be building relationships with his new teammates while reconnecting with Kakko there as well.
«At first, you're very sad to leave a team, but you go to another team and realize, just meeting everyone and we start playing games, it's a blast,» Lindgren offered. «It was a lot of fun to do that in Colorado. Now finding out I get to go to Seattle to start that journey all over again, meet a bunch of great, new people and start fresh, I'm really looking forward to it.»
In the meantime, the Rangers haven't finished turning over the entire roster, which took the team to the Eastern Conference Finals in '22 and '24.
Could we see more trades as July progresses?
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 6 | 809 ANSWERS Former Rangers Defenseman's Reunion With Forward Kaapo Kakko is nothing short of thrilling Do you think defenseman Ryan Lindgren will make the Seattle Kraken a better team? | ||
| Yes | 591 | 73.1 % |
| No | 218 | 26.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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